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[OM] Re: Using those old time (and cheap) flash units

Subject: [OM] Re: Using those old time (and cheap) flash units
From: "Jeff Keller" <jeffreyrkeller@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2006 16:28:26 -0800
Thank you Chuck,

Yikes ... for me, two hours best case to get in and out of the house,
not per room. There's been times when the kitchen seemed to take 2
hours though. Probably just over 3 hours in the house is  typical.
Often I will go back to get a couple more shots though.

I almost always shoot over 120 pictures of a house. Probably my
keepers are running about 1 out of 8. What I remember of my own shots
are the ones that didn't work but I really wanted. Blue hot spots on
ceilings haunt me.

The barn that was used for the wedding(?) that you shot didn't have
images of the ceiling, but a very large area was very nicely lit. The
earlier pro photographer didn't create nearly as nice images. The tent
which you've posted links to is very well done. The lighting in the
recent example that you described as less than optimum (having side
lighting) would work very well for selling a house.  I think there was
at least one portrait of yours I saw that had some interior
background.

One of the things I look for are odd shadows or bright spots that
shout that the photograph had artificial lighting. I've never seen
anything in your images that hint of a problem. On the other hand, I
have used my own photos that have some odd sources of light. The
ceiling above an open door that is brightly lit on the darker side of
the doorway, a bathtub that has light coming out of it. For sure if
someone thought about it for more than 2 seconds they would know they
aren't going to see the same thing. However when people buy a house
they want to show pictures of it to their friends and co-workers. The
fixer-upper that growls at anyone stopping to look has to have
pictures that the buyer will be proud to show. It can be fun.

I love the street shot of your neighborhood. The most similar parts of
Palo Alto have $2M to $3M+ homes. In one of the areas, what appeared
to be essentially just a large lot judging by the description,  sold
for $5M (I think the lot was about 20k sq ft ). Most architects tell
people to expect to pay $300 per sq ft. to build a house. Your
pictures are at least as good as anything I've done. I definitely have
to put some time into learning about software.

Clearly we live in different worlds but in my world the best real
estate agents will generally increase the sales price significantly
higher than what their commision costs. I do know of at least one
buyer though who years ago thought he was getting a deal by buying a
"for sale by owner" directly without an agent. He overpaid by roughly
$100k on a $600K house. Going to the opposite side of a street can
change the price of a house by 5%, in part because of the school.

-jeff


On 11/2/06, Chuck Norcutt <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I'm still confused about what makes you think I'm getting nice, evenly
> lit rooms.  I light people and the ceilings and walls fall where they
> may.  I think the only thing I've ever posted that even comes close to
> the architectural stuff you do is the photos that accompany my house for
> sale flyer on my web site. <http://www.chucknorcutt.com/house/>
>
> But I cheat since there is no lighting involved here at all.  It's all
> natural light and multiple exposures blended HDR style.  And laboriously
> so as it's done without the advantage of HDR software.  I didn't spend
> anywere near two hours on each room in either pre or post-processing
> but then I don't think it looks particularly good either.  The tripod
> was usually sitting on soft carpet and I didn't have a remote release at
> the time.  I think there are proabably pixel level alignment errors
> between the multiple images which gives them a bit of a mushy look.
>
> ps:  I lowered the price.  Y'all can call for an appointment now.
>
> Chuck Norcutt

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